31 weeks

31 weeks.

For some reason, I just can't bring myself to post any bump pictures on Facebook. :-p

Not too much news to report other than my cloth diapering spending spree... I've ordered a big variety of brands/styles to try, probably much more than we'll need (9 one-size pockets, 5 small and 5 medium covers, 1 fitted, 1 fitted all-in-one, and 2 one-size all-in-twos, split amongst 8 different brands)! Think that should hold us for the next year? Ha! But hey, I was having fun finding deals. :-) We just need prefolds, wipes, and some accessories and then we should be good to go. We checked out some Japanese prefolds the other day and it seems we'd need to use two cloths per diaper, so I'm not sure about that... but those should be the last big thing to order and then we'll just have to wait to receive and prep everything (thanks Mom and Dad!). I sure hope our old, tiny washing machine is up for it! We'll probably need to add another line up outside too, haha.

8.5 weeks left!

Baby stuff

We went shopping on Monday to see if we could find anything for baby - and we did! I think we got some pretty good deals on a crib, jumparoo, and bedding at Hard Off (second hand store) and Toys-R-Us, respectively. And last night we got the amazing news that starting next month our boss will pay 40% of our rent to help us out, so we're not moving and we can start setting things up! Yay! Praise the Lord!!

After our appointment today (uneventful, everything still looks good - baby has really long legs and weighs about 3lbs7oz now) Jeremy wanted to put together the crib we bought. :-)

The crib with the bedding and rug. We didn't put it on because I assume we'll wash it first. The sheet/comforter are a slight greenish khaki color with white polka dots. Too bad the English isn't Engrish.

The jumparoo - he wanted to put that together right away too, haha.

The first of the Hiroshi Watanabe puzzles we finished the other day. We just need some frames. Any color suggestions?

30 weeks!

This is probably the biggest pregnancy milestone for me - the 30s - the homestretch! I'm so happy to finally be here, even though we still have quite a way to go. Eri-chan is doing great, getting bigger and stronger each day. She continues to shake my whole body with her kicks! Honestly, I've been struggling a bit lately, too. It's hard not to feel a little depressed when so many of our friends are due to have their first children this summer/fall as well and they're already so much more prepared than we are. I can't help feeling a tad jealous over their registeries, cute nurseries, and baby showers. We don't regret our choice to be here at all, but I still wish we could be doing the same things. We're just trading certain wedding and first baby experiences for our awesome Japan experience. And God will provide for us everything that we need, we're condifident of that, even if I need to keep reminding myself of it. He has and never will fail us! :-) Please do be praying for us though! Thanks.

Easter weekend

Easter service at Uenodai park.

Riri (Lily) and Mr. Matsubara - Lily comes to every church service. :-)

We thought this was too funny. It was warm, so Jeremy took off his beloved jacket and a group of ladies congregated around it. He watched helplessly as they conversed and retrieved it the first chance he got.

The next day, we had a staff meeting. I joined them and it was so great to see everyone and be back at school for a bit. Afterwards, we had a picnic at Shizuki park.

Our friend, Michiko (Hagi secretary), her husband, and their newborn baby joined us. I cannot believe we're going to have one of those in a few months!

Jeremy's sakura photo shoot and others

Spring is in the air! Last Sunday I was able to get out of the house again! We went to Shizuki park for hanami. And some random pictures from today. 27w4d (ok, so this was taken yesterday). I snapped this at a stop light. The building is Meirin Elementary School, one of the oldest buildings in Hagi. Many of our students attend classes here. I wanted to go to Nagato today for something different. It had been over a month since I had seen the progress on the new road construction. Along the way, we noticed the Hagi Sansansanmi place was having their grand opening, so we stopped to check it out. We're still not sure what exactly it is... but it has some nice views! Jeremy found this sign at a 100 yen (dollar) store. Then he found this near a bathroom... we have no idea... On the way home in Hagi, we decided to run by the river island and saw some beautiful sakura trees. Then we got a little lost 'bumming around' the other side of Hagi. Fun times! Jeremy picked out this photo album in Nagato for baby. It's so soft and cute!